i think kowalski would see a lot of himself in victoria, to the point that i think he would see fraser's perpetual forgiveness of her as kind of a yardstick for how far he, himself, could push fraser.

i think if he'd been the one there for victoria, he'd have had her fucking arrested and in interrogation in a heartbeat - or at least tried. i think he would have been totally ruthless about her, because he would have known that he'd have to be to get the better of her. vecchio did a lot of trusting fraser's instincts, and i think kowalski would have instantly known that this was a situation where fraser would have to trust him. he does that, now and then - he gets the crazy eyes, and fraser has to downshift into being the one to placate the crazy man. usually this is over ray's own personal stuff, so fraser has no problem backing off it and playing the calming influence, but i have to wonder who would WIN that competition, y'know? crazy eyes ray, or vulnerable fraser-protect-me victoria?